Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has taken the pole position for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
All the preparations were done and the time came for the first qualifying of the 2022 F1 season.
The pit lane exit was open and Q1 went underway. The Williams and AlphaTauri drivers were the first to hit the track.
Max Verstappen took the early lead in the segment, followed by Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. Shortly after, Verstappen’s lap time was beaten by the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc remained on top of the standings at the checkered flag. Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, and Nicholas Latifi were eliminated from qualifying.
After a brief break, the on-track action was resumed. The teams and drivers did not have to be concerned about the tires as the Q2 tire rule was canceled for this year.
Verstappen got to the lead in Q2, ahead of Leclerc and Perez. Kevin Magnussen was surprisingly in fourth, but his qualifying was under threat after a hydraulic issue.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were 5th and 6th respectively. With less than 3 minutes to go they decided to have another run. They managed to improve their lap times, but stayed at their positions as Sainz overtook them.
Verstappen’s lap time was unreachable in Q2. Ocon, Mick Schuamcher, Lando Norris, Alexander Albon, and Guanyu Zhou were eliminated.
Ten drivers were left in qualifying and they determined who would be the polesitter for the Bahrain GP. After the first outing, Sainz was on top, ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen. However, only 0.056 seconds separated them, so the battle for the pole was not over.
Several minutes later, all 10 drivers went to the track for the final attempt. Leclerc beat Sainz’s time, while the Spaniard failed to improve his result. It all came down to the battle between Verstappen and Leclerc, but the Dutchman’s lap time was not good enough for the pole position.
The results of the Bahrain GP qualifying:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:30.558 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | +0.123 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.129 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | +0.363 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.680 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +1.002 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1.250 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | +1.637 |
| 9 | George Russell | Mercedes | +1.658 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | +1.780 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:31.782 |
| 12 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 1:31.998 |
| 13 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:32.008 |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:32.664 |
| 15 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:33.543 |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:32.750 |
| 17 | Nico Hulkenberg | Aston Martin | 1:32.777 |
| 18 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 1:32.945 |
| 19 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:33.032 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 1:33.634 |
Hi everyone! My name is Anton, I am 19 years old and I am an aspiring motorsports journalist. I love motorsports for those emotions and excitement it brings.
